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5 Household Hacks That Save Time Cleaning

With the right tricks, you can save a lot of time around the house.
With the right tricks, you can save a lot of time around the house. Photo: Getty Images
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July 23, 2025, 8:52 am | Read time: 3 minutes

In household chores, a lot of time is often wasted, especially when cleaning, tidying, or cooking. To save time, myHOMEBOOK presents five useful tricks to make household tasks more efficient and quicker.

Clean a Blender in Seconds

Making smoothies or creamy dressings is quick with a countertop blender: Just add all the ingredients to the container and start. However, cleaning it can be a real chore, especially since you have to be careful with the sharp blades. This is particularly true when cleaning the blender by hand.

It’s much easier and faster if you clean it like you would when making a smoothie: Add some hot water and a splash of dish soap to the container, let it sit briefly, close the lid, and run the blender on the highest setting. After about 15 seconds, rinse the container with clear water and dry it.

Clean Burnt Pots Without Scrubbing

Over time, pots wear out, and burnt crusts become noticeable. Scrubbing often doesn’t get you very far. To save time in the household, let the right cleaning agents do the work for you. Vinegar, baking soda, baking powder, or even ketchup are excellent for removing copper oxide. Simply apply the chosen agent and let it sit for at least half an hour. In the meantime, you can attend to other tasks. Then rinse the pot with clear water.

Clean the Microwave

When reheating food in the microwave, food residues and grease splatters can quickly remain inside. Therefore, it’s all the more important to clean the kitchen appliance regularly. The interior can be particularly tricky unless you proceed as follows: Fill a microwave-safe bowl with water and lemon juice. Place it in the microwave and set it to the highest setting for five minutes. The evaporating liquid will loosen the residues. After the five minutes are up, simply wipe the interior with a damp sponge.

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Thaw Frozen Foods Faster

When thawing fish and meat, you should ideally take your time and store it in the refrigerator. However, if you forgot to take the meat out of the freezer in time and you’re hungry, you can use a practical trick. To save time in the household and thaw frozen meat faster, take a pot, turn it upside down, and place the frozen piece of meat on the pot’s bottom. Fill a second pot with warm water and place it on top of the frozen item. After five to ten minutes, the meat should be thawed.

Caution: Thawing meat can be a tricky matter. If you thaw it at room temperature or even on the heater, germs and bacteria can quickly multiply.

Get Rid of Garlic Smell on Hands

Many dishes taste especially good with onions and garlic. If only it weren’t for the persistent smell that lingers on your hands. Simple handwashing usually doesn’t completely remove it. But the solution is close at hand: When washing your hands, simply rub them on the stainless steel faucet. Alternatively, you can use a stainless steel spoon.

Stainless steel contains chromium and nickel. When you rub wet hands over a stainless steel surface, such as the kitchen sink faucet, the sulfur from the garlic reacts with the chromium and nickel. The smell is neutralized.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of MYHOMEBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@myhomebook.de.

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